Santa Fe (not Santa Claus)

Santa Fe Museum of Art and some idiot by the clock

Happy thanksgiving!  Down here in the US it is not thanksgiving – it is some other heathen holiday called Columbus Day - celebrating some mythical Italian Deity who supposedly discovered “America” (another unlikely myth).  What this Columbus person did not know was that there were already some people here (who had been here for a few thousand years) and that some other Europeans had already visited them.  Leif Erickson and crew were here in Newfoundland prior to 1492 and St. Brendan the Irish explorer may have even preceded him.  Although with St. Brendan there is very little proof – it might simply have been hallucinations brought on by the DT’s.  (He wasn’t really a saint- the Christians made him a saint when they came to Ireland because they did not know what else to do with him)

Canadian thanksgiving precedes the American thanksgiving by a few hundred years – it was a celebration of a successful voyage to the New World.  Since this is not thanksgiving here we will be unable to get a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.   I guess we will have to see if we can find a turkey burger and cranberry shake.

We are currently in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We drove for 2 days to get here stopping in Temple, Texas and Clovis, New Mexico.  As we drove north in Texas we notice a considerable decrease in economic strength.  There were a lot of abandoned farmhouses and we even drove through a town called Rising Star where everything seemed to be abandoned.  Even the Real Estate office had a dusty “For Sale” sign hanging askew from the front door.  

What a change from New Orleans and Houston Texas!  The altitude is about 2300 meters as compared to about 0. It is desert here and the air is very dry and considerably cooler – the temperature has gone down as low as freezing overnight.  The southern drawl we were gradually getting used to has started to fade and conversations here are mostly intelligible.  Along with the decreased southern drawl there is a decreased southern expanse.   They can actually fit more than three people in an elevator here.  Not all of the food is deep-fried – although about 75% still is.

Santa Fe is an artistic town known for it’s myriad artists and alternative life-styles.  We have seen more men with ponytails here than we have seen anywhere in the last year.  In the south ponytails would not be acceptable due to the strong military atmosphere.  It almost makes me want to grown mine back again…  just kidding!  I could sense a rising of hairs on the backs of necks and curling of upper lips from just typing that!   Calm down – it was just a joke!  Jeeze!

Center for modern aboriginal art

 The atmosphere here is very artistic.  Just the surroundings are artistically stimulating.  The earth here is imbued with rich earth tones of browns, reds, yellows and oranges.  The houses are mostly adobe and coloured with the hues of the surroundings giving the city a unique feel.  We have had our first glimpse of fall colours in the leaves, which makes us a little homesick.

More Adobe architecture

We walked around the center of the city today and did a little souvenir shopping.  Things are a little expensive in the shops.   I saw a unique belt that I thought I might like.  It was about $30.00 but I noticed that it did not have a belt buckle.  So I asked how much it would be for a belt buckle.  The lady said she had some nice belt buckles that ranged from $1000.00 to $1400.00 but that they were about 40% off this weekend.  Nothing like having a belt-buckle that was worth more than the rest of my entire wardrobe!  What kind of pants would you have to have to wear a belt like that?

Around the fringe of the central plaza were quite a number of aboriginal artists.  They had some very unique products and their prices were more amenable to the common man.  Telen did a little souvenir shopping there.  What I find a little disturbing is the proliferation of “native” artwork around Santa Fe that is not done by the aboriginals at all.  It has been “borrowed”.  The native designs are everywhere using the beautiful earth tones and minerals of the area but the majority of those products are sold in the high-priced store where they charge $1400.00 for a belt buckle.  The actual native artisans are relegated to the fringe of the tourist area where they sit on the ground and sell their goods off of blankets.

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi

The other interesting part of New Mexico is the strong Mexican influence here.  Almost half the population here is either Hispanic or Latino descent.  Hence the adobe architecture and the “southwest cuisine”.  Southwest cuisine seems to be a lot of tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas.  Not that I am complaining!  I love all those foods, so it is a good thing we are not spending a lot of time here or I would have to leave on the back of a flatbed truck.  As it is I am having a hard time keeping my hard-earned fitness while at the mercy of American cooking and portions.